


Change

by SuchBooshut



Category: Hawkeye (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: BAU mentioned, Dark, Death, LAPD, Murder, Ronin Clint Barton, Serial Killer, Steve Rogers mentioned - Freeform, Tony Stark's Death mentoned, and this is what happened, i dont even know okay, i saw a meme, kind of, no beta we die like men, phil coulson - Freeform, probably a lot of commas, sort of canon compliant, unbetaed, you know the one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-19 03:16:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29619762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuchBooshut/pseuds/SuchBooshut
Summary: Young men running from the beat up old garage and petrol station with their tails between their legs. He had given them a choice and they chose wisely. The few that didn't, weren’t the lucky ones. Their stupidity deciding their fate for them. They came across a man who had lost everything and tried to hurt him more. They lay dead or dying as the blaze gains momentum, he tries to have remorse for what he has just done, but instead there is just fear.What has he become.
Kudos: 2





	Change

**Author's Note:**

> So.... I dont even know. Enjoy?!?!

The first time it happens it scares him, stumbling and crawling back to his car. He guns the engine before he registers that the pump is still attached to his car and watches in his rear view mirror as the first sparks fly and the old pump continues to spray out gasoline as it flicks through the air. He doesn't see where it comes to rest because of the flames that erupt and soon the whole place is ablaze. Young men running from the beat up old garage and petrol station with their tails between their legs. He had given them a choice and they chose wisely. The few that didn't, weren’t the lucky ones. Their stupidity deciding their fate for them. They came across a man who had lost everything and tried to hurt him more. They lay dead or dying as the blaze gains momentum, he tries to have remorse for what he has just done, but instead there is just fear.

What has he become.

It started when he turned around to see his daughter gone, his son no longer playing across the small space between them and the farmhouse. Laura gone quiet along with the baby. It stops his heart and his breathing as he frantically pulls the door open, the wood bouncing off each other and making a clatter he barely registers. He calls for them as he searches, begging them to come out from where they are hiding. They don't. It isn't until he walks into the kitchen and sees the pile of dust in front of the stove, a pot of water with a babies bottle bubble erratically on top. He reaches for the bottle before he turns to the highchair. Another smaller pile of dust is where his baby should be, he breaks and sobs on the kitchen floor. The water an accompanying hiss to his sobs and wails. Eventually his tears run dry but the anger and the sadness take over and he barely has enough strength in him to turn off the stove before he collects his weapons and leaves.

He doesn't lock the door or even care about the toys and the things scattered around, he doesn't need to. The people who were there are gone and he is alone. Climbing into his truck he guns the engine and just drives. It's a few hours before he realises he is driving east, his training kicking in before his anger takes over again. He knows what his subconscious was doing, hoping to find Nat or anyone who can help him. He makes a u-turn and switches direction, car horns blare angrily at him but he pays them no mind.

The road gets darker as he drives and soon he finds his car is out of gas or slowly getting there, making a snap decision he pulls into the gas station up ahead. Ignores the arguing he hears as he fills his truck. The men are angry and yelling at each other, he sees more piles of dust being taken by the wind and knows what has happened. He feels sympathy for the men who are gesturing wildly between him and the door to the garage. Until one of the men turns to him, an angry scowl on his face and begins to yell.

Threats wash over him but he ignores them as he moves closer to the door, pulling his wallet out that is full of cash. There is a gleam in the angry ones eye now, he intercepts Clint as he goes to open the door and yanks the wallet from his hands.

"You trespass, you pay the fine" the angry man sneers, tucking the wallet out of sight in a pocket.

"You can have the money, but I need the wallet back. Please" he tries to reason, but the man scoffs before clicking his fingers. Two large men grab him from behind and haul him into the station. There is dust everywhere. The linoleum stained with it as he is dragged into a back room. The angry man sits himself behind a desk and gestures with his hand, Clint is forced into the chair across from him.

He lets them hold him, willing to allow them to hurt him how they want as long as he gets his wallet back. He needs it. The only thing he has left of his children and wife is inside. A picture he wants and they can have the rest. He tells them this and they scoff, only one looks sympathetic to his plight. They probably don't know what has happened to cause some of their comrades to disintegrate before their eyes and he doesn't feel like explaining. He begs them for the picture and the man rifles through his wallet. The SHIELD ID that he never got rid of is pulled out and they laugh, like it is the funniest joke they have ever heard and he sees red. The men only have a loose hold on him and that is their first mistake. He pushes the chair backwards as he flies out of it and connects his boot with the face of the angry man. He falls backwards taking the chair with him, Clint doesn't stop to think what is happening. He loses it. Stomping on the man's face over and over again until he quiets under the leather of his blood stained boot. The others have pulled their guns and are yelling at him to stop, to calm down but he can't. They make no move to stop him but yell and gesture. They are bad men and bad men must be punished. 

The glint of the katana under the desk catches his eye, he pulls it out and swings it idly, using the tip to point at the heavily tattooed men that are trying to intimidate him with their guns. He grins at them.

"You don't know what happened to make half of your gang disappear into dust. I could tell you but why should I. All I wanted was some gas, maybe some food but you and your leader." He lifts his boot from the man's face, uncaring if he is still alive. "You had to try and make me suffer. BUT your tiny little pea brains didn't seem to contemplate that it wasn't just you feeling loss today. It wasn't just you who had someone taken from you that you cared about. And instead of being sympathetic and helpful you decided to take it out on me, a man who has nothing to lose. NOTHING, because everything has already been taken." Whilst he is talking he collects his things from the desk and tucks them into his inner pocket of his jacket. The photo is still safe. The men start to shift uncertain now.

"I will give you one warning. Leave, take this as a sign to change your lives, make something out of the shit that has happened and be a better person. Help those that have lost like you have, or stay here and die by my hand. I really do have nothing to lose now. And whilst I hate to spill blood unnecessarily I won't hold back on you backwater punks. Now? Have you made a decision?"

A few of the younger ones retreat instantly, running away from the situation and the absolutely feral grin he knows is plastered across his face, but six of them choose to stay. The two who tried to hold him try and look intimidating but it doesn't work.

"Last chance." he announces and laughs when two more break from their ranks and turn tail away from the crazy man they tried to detain. The four that remain steel themselves, the silence descends until one of them fires his gun and the bullet pings off of the metal shelves behind Clint's head. He uses the desk to vault over the first two. Swinging the katana as he moves and those two go down, groaning and crying as they try to stem the flow of blood from fresh wounds. He pays them no attention as the fight continues and soon there are five bodies strewn around the garage. One of them is already pale and unmoving. Clint almost vomits when he realise what he has done so he runs.

Clambers into his truck and drives.

He finds a rundown motel on the edge of nowhere and pays for a room, the clerk is frantic about something whilst on the phone and shoos him away with a key thrust in his hand. Clint takes it and backs away. The room is clean and although he can feel the blood caked on him he doesn't much feel like showering, he does though. Aware that he can't drive across country or wherever he is going covered in blood. After the shower he washes his clothes the best he can in the meagre Laundromat across the car park. The older woman who mans the place is starring off into space and he finds he doesn't mind being ignored. He sits on a bench in his boxers, and t-shirt, which escaped miraculously unscathed.

He makes it to LA three days later with no further incidents, the residents are frantic. Riots have broken out, shops are boarded up or burning and he tries to figure out his next steps. He catches the news as he watches an electrical supply store get looted, the rest of the world is reeling from what has happened. The TV cuts off as a youth yanks it from the frame that holds it so he moves on. Walking aimlessly and wondering if his u-turn had been a bad idea. He reasons with himself, he doesn't know who survived or where the rest of the Avengers are. How SHIELD or what is left after Cap tore it down, is holding up. So he stays where he is. He begins to help with relief efforts that the government are trying, to make the world feel better after, it is meagre but it is something. He hands out food in a food bank for an entire week until he sees someone in line that he recognises.

Bobbi.

He waits until she has collected a coffee and nothing more before intercepting her, she looks surprised to see him and he echoes the feeling. He knows not everyone he ever knew had disappeared but having proof is a different matter. Bobbi tells him that they are undermanned at the LA Office because half of them turned to dust before her eyes. The place has since been cleaned but it's hard because everyone saw it, family members gone as well as co-workers and they don't know how to carry on. She sees the look on his face and hugs him, tells him to follow her back to her place.

The apartment is a one bedroom and she informs him that her girlfriend is gone too. They cry and commiserate on the sofa that night. Bottles of liquor empty quickly as she tells him about Emily and he tells her about Laura, and the kids. They cry and cry before the morning sun blazes through the window and reminds them that they should get some sleep.

They end up in the same bed, cuddling in their drunken stupor, trying for some feeling that they are not alone. It doesn't go anywhere else because it isn't what either of them wants. They just want someone to hold them. Clint wakes the next day when coffee is wafted under his nose, its such a familiar gesture that just for a moment he wonder if it was all a dream before he cracks his eye open and sees blonde instead of brunette. Dark grey wallpaper in a tiny room instead of the pale yellow of his own bedroom back home. Bobbi must see the look in his eyes because she sets the cup down on the dresser nearby, mumbles something about breakfast and him getting his ass up before she retreats. He does as requested because he knows if he goes back to sleep the cycle will repeat itself and he doesn't know how much more of that he can take.

Once he leaves the bedroom, Bobbi points to a grocery bag that sits on the counter between them. Inside is a razor, a toothbrush and some men's toiletries. He takes the hint because he hasn’t showered since the motel and wanders off towards the bathroom. He doesn't shave but he brushes his teeth and gets a quick shower. The clothes that are waiting on the bed are not his but the tags attached tell him that maybe Bobbi has had a busy morning. He thinks about how she must be feeling and a fleeting memory pops into his head. When Bobbi walked out on their marriage back when they were both 18 and stupid, he remembers her moving on quickly. Taking her mind off things by doing missions and little jobs whilst he wallowed in drink and let Coulson and Nat drag back up again. He wishes he could do that and decides that he needs a new reason to live.

Entering back into the kitchen he sees Bobbi cooking whilst the TV talks and at first he pays it no attention until the news anchor begins to talk about the resurgence of gang violence and how groups are taking advantage of the chaos and he knows what he is going to do. He knows what his new mission will be.

Bobbi's phone rings pulling him from his plans in his head and he listens carefully as she tries to talk without giving anything away but he recognises the voice on the other end and knows who she is talking to. He makes a cutting gesture across his throat and she nods, allowing him to keep his presence from SHIELD and Coulson a little longer.

The call lasts so long that he rummages in the fridge for food and retreats back to the sofa, flicking through channels before giving up. Each one playing news on repeat, the same stuff over and over again and he is tired. Eventually Bobbi tells him she has to go, the bus is waiting for her, she offers him her keys but he declines.

Getting his stuff he follows her out and watches her lock up. He hugs her goodbye and watches as the tears spring in her eyes.

"It's okay." he tells her even though he knows it's far from it.

"Be careful." she tells him, she always could read his mind so he nods, knowing that he doesn't care if he lives or dies.

His first stop after she leaves is the electrical store he watched being looted a few nights previous. There is nothing left but an old looking computer in the back, the office locked and still untouched from the hoards. He turns it on and is surprised when it boots up faster than he was expecting. He realises quickly that whilst the casing is old and yellowing like the computers in many libraries across the country, the insides must have been replaced, gutted and made new. He learned to hack from Natasha and soon he has police reports, files from a group called OSP in LA and the local FBI. There are too many gangs in LA and soon he will take his anger out on all of them.

He finds everything he needs and deletes his trail, hoping that no-one will be able to tell he was there, but a part of him doesn't care. They can come and arrest him, throw him back on the raft for all he cares. He refuse to stay on house arrest when the home he once had is gone.

He finds an old contact and has him make him a costume, something that will hide his face and becomes Ronin. The black and gold so far from his old costume that he grins when he sees it, the man is proud of his work and Clint pays him handsomely for his time. The jacket is thick and heavy, as well as the rest, hidden pockets all over. A harness across the back which is to hold two Katana's. Holsters on the outside of both legs and knife sheaths hidden in the lining of his new outfit. He tries it on right then and there.

The first gang he takes down are a group who have decided that now there is less law enforcement to stop them, they are going to charge rent and protection fees in a five block radius. The people are scared and he watches as they try to rough up an old man who begs them that he has nothing left. His whole family is gone. Clint empathises and soon the cloud descends. He takes all but one of the thugs out, telling the old man to go back inside and lock his door. The man nods gratefully before following orders.

The thug whimpers in his grip as Clint hauls him into the alley next to a bodega.

"Tell me where the rest are and I will let you live." he tells the cowering asshole, who spits blood at him. Clint gives him a few body blows, nothing that will render him unconscious but enough to hurt his ribs and have him regretting his choices. Loyalty runs away with the piss that trickles down his leg and he sobs as he reveals everything. Tells Clint that they have a place where they all meet up each night to give in their daily spoils. Clint thanks him before leaning closer.

"Now I want you to remember this." he sneers at the coward at his feet, "Go and tell all those disgusting human beings that have decided that they will take advantage of this tragedy. Tell them that Ronin is coming. Tell them that there is nowhere to hide, their only chance is to stop what they are doing and repent their sins. Tell them that I will have no mercy." he backs away and watches as the thug scrambles to his feet, running for his life.

He finds the hideout and watches from a low roof top, there are quite a few of them and he knows that this will be tricky but he doesn't care for his safety. If he dies tonight it will be part of whatever plan the universe has and he is at peace with that. He kisses the photograph he carries everywhere with him and quite literally jumps into the fold. The lower rungs are easy, they have barely any training or experience and the ones that run he leaves, they can have their lives. Once he gets deeper into the building the bodies begin to pile up. The guns lay discarded next to motionless hands, the clips missing one or two bullets. The problem with gangs like these is they are about as useful with a gun as a storm trooper, unless they have an AK and are committing a drive by. This is a slaughter and they are the pigs, it doesn't take him long to reach the inner sanctum, the big boss sitting with his minions. Apparently unaware or uncaring for the noise that was happening outside the door. The young thug from earlier is stood behind the desk and whispering urgently to a fat man who swings in his chair. A loud laugh erupts from him before the younger kid looks up, right into Clint's mask and blanches white.

"I told you." he moans before ducking under the desk, ignoring the yells from his comrades. A few turn to the doorway and the fight is back on, he jumps into the middle and swing indiscriminately. The blade meeting jugulars and carotid arteries as if old friends, the men go down quickly, a few from friendly fire as they had tried to fend him off with bullets. He laughs as his breath heaves in his chest from the exertion at the look on Boss man's face.

"You are very good, you should come work for me." he tries but it is futile. He dies by Clint's blade like the rest. He ducks his head to look at the cowering man, the stench of urine hits him and he wonders if this man had every really wanted to fight in a gang.

"Go, tell them. I am coming." he whispers. Before turning and leaving. He picks his way across the bodies and takes the odd weapon, some catch his eye and he knows that even though he won't use them, the ammo is free and he will can pawn the guns later.

He gets a few blocks away before he stops to assess the damage, his suit is bloody but will wipe clean and he has no injuries. He counts it as a success, police sirens wail as he ducks into an alley and soon he is back at his truck and changed into Clint Barton again. The man who lost his family.

The motel he is staying at is quiet when he gets back, he flicks the TV on and watches as the news anchor details the horrific massacre of the Southland Kings. A street gang that had terrorised the local area up until very recently. The news reporter seems almost relieved to be reporting on something else as she details what information they have received. The blonde talks and talks until a warning flashes on the screen about parental guidance and how some scenes are not suitable for viewers with weak dispositions. He zones back in then and watches as the coroner pulls body after body out of the run down building. There is no sign of the young thug who he let live, but he expects the kid fled as soon as he left. The police are milling about and trying to look like they know what happened or what they will do next but he knows he left no evidence. That they are clueless and with what has happened to half their forces they won't put much effort into solving this particular crime.

They won't say it. Neither the police or the news anchor but they all know, that this was a public service massacre and whilst it is a crime, most of the public won't lose any sleep because of it. He knows he has caused more hurt, that those men had families. Mothers and sisters who will miss them, maybe wives or children. But they had time to leave, they were warned.

It isn't until the anchor is back that his stomach flips, the cardboard smile on her face as she informs the viewers that the police are doing everything they can in their enquiries, makes him want to puke. He does, the pizza and beer he had consumed since arriving back at the hotel is now splattered around the toilet bowl.

He knows he did wrong, he knows in some ways that he is no better than them, but he also knows that someone has to help the vulnerable and whilst his methods are horrific it's the only thing he can think to do. The police need evidence to arrest them so he can't round them up and hand them over to the police, they would be back on the street in a day. He will rid the world of the scum.

He stares at himself as he brushes his teeth, steeling himself for what he knows is to come.

The gangs fall like dominos in LA after that, warehouses and old clubs gutted. One after the other. The Fifth Street Locos going next on his hit list. He surveil's them for days to figure out their patterns and this time he knocks them down a few at a time. He knows he got lucky the last few times, no bullets hit him but he won't be that lucky for long so he lessens their numbers before going after the head honcho. Each group gets the same warning and each time he is ignored, he doesn't go for the kill so much this time but will be shocked if a fair few don't succumb to their injuries. The boss is a little man surrounded by behemoths. His mouth runs away with him when he sees Ronin stood in his doorway, inadvertently giving Clint his next few targets as he tries to warn off the sword wielding maniac he has become. It doesn't work and after the guns come out he takes the heads off of the snakes.

He moves motels after that job, making sure he is free from blood and his weapons are away before anyone has a chance to see what he has in his kit. No-one really pays him any attention, the streets are buzzing with the news that a more gangs have been slaughtered. This time the news reports that the bodies were found in alleys and side streets, all emanating to a central point, back to the hideout. They throw a map on screen to show where each attack took place, a few of the men survived and were taken to hospital but apparently early reports say they are not talking.

An on scene reporter is next on the screen, talking to a thug hooked up to machines. Battered, bruised and babbling about the Devil. Clint laughs at that, because he dares not cry, and the man is not wrong. The report ends with a final statement about the FBI taking over the case and the camera cuts to a very familiar BAU SUV pulling up to a crime scene. He wonders if he should send a heads-up to Hotch but figures it's safer not to, they are right he is a serial killer and their job is to stop him. They won't though, not yet and although he won't hurt them, he isn't finished. Also plausible deniability is a thing and he won't provide evidence for his own death sentence.

Los Alvos have abandoned ship when he arrives a few days later, most of them running for the hills, heeding the warnings that the Devil is on their tails and proving at least that some of them have brains. The leader and his loyal few that are left are prepared but it isn't enough, he takes them out too. Only he leaves one alive when he realises that the man is just watching, not trying to fight him. Only after he is finished does the man pull a gun and aim it squarely at Clint's chest.

"I'm LAPD Detective Andrew Martinez, you are coming with me."

Clint feigns compliance until the gun is pressed to his back in the corridor. He uses every piece of training he knows to get the gun away from the cop and pins him to the wall.

"I am doing your job. I won't be coming with you and I will warn you. I am the devil and I am taking the scum off the streets," It's a little dramatic he knows but after he knocks out the cop he skips town. Collecting all his things and leaving his truck at the motel. Using a bus he gets to San Diego before anyone is any the wiser. LA becomes almost gang free after that, the cop he knocked out appears on TV and says he is lucky to be alive. The Devil spared him and he gave him a warning. He tells the reporters a story, interspersed with lies but with enough truth that Clint nods when he hears it.

"I was spared today by a man who wants the world to know that he is removing the scum off of the street. I tried to help as he tore through the men like butter, taking his pound of flesh. He pinned me and told me to tell everyone that he won't be caught and he will exterminate the rats." The reporter thanks him as he is hauled away in a fake show by the police and with a solemn voice explains that in the wake of a worldwide tragedy maybe one man has finally had enough.

They are right.

*******************************************************************************

He stays in San Diego for a week and takes out two biker gangs that are warring for territory and taking innocent lives with them, he uses his guns this time and it takes the local police a while to connect the incidents before he leaves. He arrives back in LA and decides he will break into Bobbi's apartment. Stay off the grid for a while and get the lay of the land. Bobbi hasn’t been back since she left with the bus team and the apartment is safe and hidden from most of the world. No-one knows that a SHIELD Agent lives there except for SHIELD and they won't come looking for Clint. The news is buzzing with his two new jobs and how the BAU and police are floundering without a scrap of evidence. He knows it's a lie because they have a description of his suit and they will be on the lookout, that a nationwide bolo has probably been issued. The news reports that gangs across the country have gone into hiding, the streets suspiciously quiet and he smiles because the warning is finally sinking in. He hacks into some databases to see if the police are telling the truth and finds that they are.

He is there a week before Bobbi's landline rings, he doesn't answer and listens as the answering machine beeps.

"Clint if this is you, please stop." Phil's voice rings out over the almost empty room and Clint knows it's time to leave LA behind. If he continues, his former colleagues will be on his tail and he doesn't think that this time he will get away with it with just a shot to the leg. He is older now and should probably know better. He makes a plan to go to Albania, to a safe house he knows that Nat has within the country. Using his brother's passport and some brown hair dye he manages to get on a flight.

He roams and kills with discrimination, taking down mafias and gangs across the world. He moves quick and uses his skills to remain undetected for years. Until one day he is fighting a group of Japanese Yakuza when he feels eyes on him. He knows who it is and once the killing is done he turns and finds his friend watching him.

He follows her to a Quinjet and sleeps. He doesn't care if she is there to take him in, hand him over to the authorities he is tired and has had enough of bloodshed. They arrive back at the Compound and even with all the looks he is getting can't bring himself to be ashamed.

He knows what he did and he knows that he went off of the deep end and is no better than some of the men and women he has killed. But with his family gone he can't bring himself to care.

His best friend and soul mate sacrifices herself against his wishes, they bring back the snapped and although his family is safe he knows that he can't go back to them. That once Laura finds out what he did she will be disgusted so he writes a letter. Tells her everything, asks her to forgive him, that he will send them money and that they are better off without him. He receives a letter back and is unsurprised with its contents. There are new photo's though. He knows he is a coward, but Tony Stark, The World's Greatest Defender is dead and Steve Rogers lived his life in an alternate dimension and died in a bed at SHIELD. He has nothing else to live for, so he finds an apartment in Brooklyn and wallows in his sadness.

**Author's Note:**

> Yep. That just happened.


End file.
